When I arrived in Leuca yesterday I had the firm intention of going for a swim, or at least an immersion, in the sea. I even got my bathing suit on, and then had an ominous feeling about how I was going to get out of Leuca. One of the Via accommodation lists had stated that sometimes there is no transportation. So I spent at least an hour on the internet trying to figure out bus schedules, then got dressed and went out to discover that the bus stops that were supposed to exist didn’t. No tourist offices open at all. Finally I went into a local bar and in my extremely proficient (not) Italian asked the bar lady about where to catch a bus. She told me, and off I went to see - about half an hour’s walk uphill. A passerby confirmed that busses did indeed sometimes stop there.
Back down to the bar. This time there was also a helpful gentleman, and now the information that I got was that the only bus was at 6.00 am and it took children to school. But it might drop me at Gagliano where there is a train station. OK! So I had missed my Mediterranean immersion all because I hadn’t googled or asked the obvious question, where is the nearest train station?
Thus it was that today my morning started with a pleasant 7 km walk back up the Via. Found the lonely little train station at the end of the rail line and missed the next train because I was reading as it silently started up. After a total wait of about two and a half hours, off I went on the slowest milk run imaginable to Lecce.
I had time to visit Lecce’s archaeological museum. It is a splendid new build inside a nineteenth century palazzo (which doesn’t mean palace, just big building). The curved galleries give welcome relief to the obligatory displays of Greek and Roman pottery. This maquette shows the design work of the new build that opened in 1979.
The highlight for me was seeing two Venus figurines from the Paleolithic era. They are made of bone and are estimated to be 20,000 years old. Like all the Venus figures that have been found across Europe, they are small, about 2 to 3 inches. They were found in a cave near Lecce that was used over many many centuries for ceremonies, socializing and a few burials. The whole region, from Lecce down to Leuca, contains many caves, especially by the sea.
And finally 8 pm rolled along and time for dinner. Feeling rash, I went into an Osteria near the town centre and ordered a piece of meat. You get taken to the meat counter and can select from an ample butcher’s display. So dinner was a beef steak (at least, I think it was beef - at the next table they were making sure that their steaks were horse meat…) and stewed red peppers with olive oil and capers.
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